Stoker



Nov. 19, 1929. F. J. WlDMAN 1735,913

STOKER I Filed Sept. 19, 1925 Z Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Nov. 19, 1929'FRANK J'. WIDMAN, OF OAK PAR-K, ILLIN OIS p l sToKER e Application fildscptemberla;1925.' Serial ti o; 57358. 'I

I This invention has to do with improvements in grates and the means forConstruct- V ing and Operating' such instrumentalities' i the' arrowswhereby to automatically advance fuel there- 'on and to uniformly spreadsuch fuel thereover. V I v j One object of the invention is to provide astep action for a gratefihaving a plurality" of 'pivoted grate-bars, andwhich may be manually or 'power operated to feed fuel fromone end to theother end, -and to dischargethe consumed fuel therefrom.

A second Object of the inventio'n is'to providea means adapted toadvance ,fuel upon an inclined grate 'free fromgback up or re-`sis'tancea v y i A third object ofthe invention is to provide -a novel'arrangement .of grate faces which will not sift fuel or become cloggedand which have interlocking portions preventing loss of fuel duringstoking. i i u\ .Another object of the in vention isto pro'- vide adirect flow of air through the movable blocks tforming, thegrate andthus 'further increase the efficiency: of the boiler. Theinvention-resides in the combination and arrangement ofparts whereby theabove objects and certain other objects hereinafter appearing areobtained, as set forth in the following specificationand particularlypointed out in the appended claims. p These objects of the invention,and such otherobjects as may hereinafter appear, are

attained bythe novelconstruction of the several elementsof thedevice,'the comb nation-, ofl these" elements, and` the arrangement ,ofthese parts one to another. One embodi- Zm'ent of the invention isillustrated in the ao companyingtwo sheets of drawing, 'hereby made apart of this specification, and in which i Figure 1 is a longitudinalsection of a boiler furnace with the grate installed therein shown inelevation; r j

"-Figure 2 is a se ctional view through -the grate, 'such as would betaken on 'the line 2-2 f Figure 4, looking in the direction of "Figur `3is adargefsectional view of the grate, similar to that in Figure 2,'showing the movable portions there'of in the positions which theyassumewhen the fuel'is being advanced-'3 I i i Figure 4 isa fragmentarytopview of 2.35 v v grate'embodying the invention;` A

Figure 5 is a'fragmentary perspectve view e showing the steparrangementof'the gra-te when in stoking position; and i e. I Figure 6isa perspective viewfiof oneofthe grate blocks. L i i A Like referencecharacters ,are used ;todesignate similar partsiii th edra ingsand inthe description which follows.

A conventional boiler structure isshown in ?675 Figure 1. In this figurea grate 10 is dis posed between the side walls of 'the fire box ll abouta'boiler; designatedll It will be noted 'that the grate 10 obliquelyinclined M downwardly fromthe front of the fire'box 11 to the rearthereof. 'The proper inclnation to'pro'curevcorrect lfeeding of coal orother fuel upon said grate 10' is ajmatter of detail, and it is later:to be pointedaout that ;A at no time are the sections of whichthegrate' 10, is composed moved into a position so that' u -the angle oftheir inclinationis toward the i front of the furnae inwhich used. I i

Asd sclosed 111 the clrawings the furnace ;has a conventional fueladoor,hereinafter called the firebox door. .grate .l'Qbegins at the front ofthe furnace just beneath such door and extends towardthe rear thereofterminating beneath the boiler 11% adjacent i a dumping section. Beyondsuch dumpng section, in atransversewall of the furnace, is an ash pitdoor, the principalportion of ashes being dumped or dropped beneaththedumping section justreferred to. As the inven-' resde in thestokermte10 i1lustrate'd, 9

and the furnacestructure may well be modified' to 'accommodate the'stoker-grate, the structure of the' furna'ce walls,` and other' parts,is given in no greatdetail. r 4

Grate 1'0 comprises a `plurality of transverse grate' bars 12 and -12injp'arallelism and equidistantly disposed. e Each of' said bars 12 and12? comprises a 'generally'pan allelopiped body terminating at eachendin V of' members--12"and*12 -areshown. In Figa' round lug or pivotbar. For convenience the lug ends of both members 12 and 12 aredesignated 12' (Reference should be i had to F igure 4:;)

i Members 12 andl2 are alternatively arranged; 'These members areidentical in structure and mounting but differ in the manner of'theiroperation as Will shortly, be pointed out.

- ends ournalledvm side membersul3, of: su1t- 'Said members 12 and'l2are at'their lug able fire resisting material, the ends l2 bebers. Sidemembers 13 areclosely contigu ous the side Walls of* the firebox ll.About each aperture 13 the jmaterial; of: member ;13 isreinforcedf asindicated at 14;

'Member 13' may' be like an I-beam, properly modified 'in st'ructu-raldetailsto sup port the gratebars 712 and 12?, andi tjosupply' a'solid'foundation for said bars, 'the grate; and 4 the load carried upon suchgrate.

At each end, transverse membersl connect e side-members'l and the wholegrate 10 is supported. upon twogbeams or'supports- 16 which 'are closelycontiguous to the' Walls of. furnace -11 and. which are of Sucientstrcngth to providea solid foundation for e ;the grate' 10.

As hereinbefore indicated the grate 10 is incl ined longitudinallyoffthe fire box. Beams 16.may= r.estupon the fioor of the ash pit inorder te prevent'nndue strain upon i 'the' `furnaoe Walls or thenecessity for unduly reintorcng such walls.. r

' Members l2 each' have a depending i `'17 1 A single bar 18 is'pivotlysecuredto all I of arms' 17. To member 12', a shorter de- -pendingarmzlissecured; Allof arms 19 'are pivotally, Secured toga' bar 20, similarto member 1.81

'Pivot'allysecured to 1'8 shaker bar '21 and'a similar shaker bar 22 isattached to member 20." Shaker bars 21 and22'extend forwardly, inparallelism, through the 'furnaceifronh inga'pertures providedtherefor-,. and" arejoined to a Vertical 'lever 23, pivotally mounted'in a bracket' 24 upon the front oi the furnace. Aehandle 25 Securedtolever 23 permits' of the rocking, of said leven 23 toimove shaker barsQland 22' fin oppositedirections Thebarsl and 12 are-thus made to rocktoward and away from one' another upon the pivot lug 12 i In Figures 1and i 2; the normal positions r t. that h m c ans p d 'b de jsedforrocking the barsljzand 12?. V

y Reference should now. behad to' .13`igures m seated in apertures 13 insaid side mem- 4, 5 a`nd'6. Figures 4 and 5 showmembers 30, orgrate-blocks, individually illustrated in Figur-e 6, correctly disposedupon bars 12 and 12': As toidisposition on a bar 12 i ora bar 12%members are alternatively reversed, and so that the longsection of eachomember 30 is adjacent the short, section of;

the contiguous member: 30.

-On adjacent cross bars arrangement of members 30 is complementalfsothat a shortsection of one member v 30 always abuts the long section ofthe mem 'ber 30 arranged at the side thereof; A complete grate surfaceis thus provided, such surface' being substantially coextensive With theside'members 13. e

Upon rocking themembers 12" and 7 12? in i the manner herein provided orin any other wa-y the fiat surface of grate' 10;` as disclosed in,Figures 1 and 3 is' changed toethe step arrangement shown in Fgure 2.'Fuel is thus steppedl down from', the front end of grate' 10 to thedumping bal by actuation of' lever 23, But it'will be. notedfthat each'niem'ber BO possesses unique;' characteristics Said'member comprisesalong section3l` and which top abodysectondepends; such body comprises askirt section; 34 open at the bottom. It also has a rounded and groovedend 35 and at the arbitrary dividing'line u between it; and' theshortfsection, avertical gtran'sverse 'slbt 36' is formed, said slot 36being inthat portion Qfthe bl gck Q which directly engages andj restsupon the bars 12 and 12 The length: of the Wall; ofslot 36 i'sgreateron' the side' adjacent sectijonj3jl; andjof con siderable less lengthontheshort'section side.

grooved' portion of therounded end "of sec tion 31 of an adjacentgratablock' adjacent itstop. i i i r i u Lip 37 may have consider-ableoverhang and may have a passage 38-therethroughfor the circulationyofair, 'the air'p'assingthre .throu h being admitted' to, the,'fire'lboxthrough slot ted topi332;

afiect the fuelon grate '10:- `Thefirsttrain When stoking paralleltrains ofiblocks v Said short" section has .an exten'diirg lip` 37 whichi's adapted to fit; snuglyintothe 'or horizontal rowoffblocks3`0hastsends 31 nearest the fuel door while the` adj'acent train ofblocks 30; is l'aid' onthe barsl2 and l2 so that 'the sections'-32'rthereof#areinearer 'the fuel door. The fuel is stepped down by tleseries oftwo trainsof blocks 30,;and & the

sto ked, as With- 'each stoking; operationythe fuel is stepped:downwardly upon thein clined grate 10: y i At no time can the eithertrain present ag surfaceinclined to- I ins-z of; v blocks- Mi a n-P alll; ep

v were used throughout.

e a substantially porting the fire.

ward the door of the furnace. Hence the stepping down action is freefrom resistance from a rearwardly inclined surface to a` horizontalsurface. At no time is the fuel for movement required to up hill.

On account of the blocks 30 being placed in alternate directions uponthe grate bars, it is obvious that at the front and rear of the grate 10a small portion would be uncovered by a grate block if the former typeof block For this reason I provide a specially designed block 130(Figure 4), having a suificiently long end section to fill up the gapwhich wouldotherwse eX- ist. This provision is not necessary, however,since the style of block indicated by the reference character 30 can beused throughout. I believe, however, that better results are obtained ifthe blocks 130 are used in the manner indicated, thereby furnishingcontinuous surface for' sup- It is quite manifest, too, that the aircirculation through blocks 30is 'direct from the front ash pit door tothe take-off. The skirt 34 allows direct access of the air to the fuelupon the grate 10 and at no time does the air have to travel in adirection from the back 'of the furnace to the front. Uniformly the pathof air is from the front to the take-off, and this is true' whether thegrate 10 is in ,normal position or is at the extreme of a stokingoperation.

From the grate 10, the ashes are stoked onto dump bars 40 which areintegral with or connected to a transverse pivoted body 41 which isjournalled at 42 in the walls of the furnace.

ties, only be discharged into the ash pit from dump bars 40, and dumpbars 40 moved only at the will of the fireman. Ashes or` fuel disturbedby stol-:ing can only be advanced to dump bars 40 when said bars 40 arein their normal and horizontal position.

claim: 1. A grate comprsing an nclned frame, transverse bars arrangedtherein in a 'stepclimb or go A shield or wing 43, arcuate in verticalcross section and coextensive with grate10, extends across the front ofdump Fuel can down relation, a plurality of fuel supporting thedirection of the` members in -alternate linear rows being opposite, andmeans for rocking contiguous transverse barsin opposite directions, themovement of said bars dividng the top surface of said graternto twoseries of alternately 'disposed contiguous step-like transverse surfaceshaving complemental and' interfitting contigucus edges, one series ofsaid surfaces being lIl` a transverse members upon said bars and havingthe point ing all its members pointed in one direction, z

horizontal` plane and the other series of' surfaces sharply inclinedinwardly of the grate. 2. In combnaton, an lnwardly inclined gratecomprsing transverse supports in stepdown order, and grate blocks uponsaid supports, each of said blocks having a curvedend the periphery ofwhich is coincident with the arc of the circle described with the axisof said supports asa center, and said .blocks i normally forming a'continuous, fiat, inclined grate surface and being arrangedin linear irows, all of the members in a singlerow pointing in one direction, thecontiguous rows 'of said blocks' having the members thereine v pointedin opposite directions, thesaid supports When rocked inoppositedirections providing in said gratea c'ontlnuous step-like surface ofblocks comprising transverse sections each having the abutting blocksthereon pointed incpposite directions, part of which sections are in ahorizontal plane and the remainder sharply inclined inwardly.

3. In combination, a gratecomprising cross Lico bars pivoted attheirends spaced equally one 5 from another and in 'step-down, order,and grate blocks thereon, each block being sup ported at a point removedfrom the center v Puo thereof 5 and in normal position providing withcontiguous blocks a continuous inwardly 'inclined grate surface in a;single plane` each.

of said-blocks having one curved end', the i v periphery of which iscoaxialwith the plvots of the cross bar on which it is disposed, saidblocks being a part of a series of longitudinal end to end rows theblocks in any linear row being undirectonal and the'directon of theblocks n cohtguousrows be ng opposte, each of said blocks having at itsother end a lip adapted .to slidingly engage upon .the curved end of thecontiguous block whereby ;to pro-.' vide a continuous jseries oftransverse surfaces for said grate when alternate cross bars are rockedin opposite directions, each of said transverse surfaces having edgescomprising mental to and interfitting with the adjacent transversesurfaces. j u 4'. In combnaton, an inclned grate com- -projectingandreceding portions complegrate blo'eks, each of whchfs supportedupenacross bar by means adjacent one end of the p block, saidblocksbeingarranged in 1ongitudinal rows allioftheblocks in a sin le rowpointing inone direction said rows o'r blo cks being arranged so that the members1I1- one roW point in opposite directions from the members in the nextcontguous rows,` said cross bars being'areuately movable and normallydisposed at an angleaway from the 'perpendicu1ar, movement of saidi rowsof biocks conjointly With said supports being 'adapted to change theplanes of the surf-anes of said rows of bloeks from a normally in'-chned fiat plane wthall top surfaces of said blooks upon each barparallel to the 'top'of said grate to- .two series of transverseflat'surfaces in staggered reiaton, one ofisaid series ofstaggeredsurfaces eonprisngblocks upon alternate bars beinghorzontal andalternate 'with the other series of surfaees, the other seres otsurfaees comprisng biockson the, other bars being sharply mehned towardthe 'bottomof said grate and cooperating With said horizontal series toprovide a contnuous y and unbroken series: of :transverse surfacesromone end'of thegrate to the other.

53111 eon'bination, a grate having trans-' Verse gratebars arrangedinstep-down order, rocking means forsaid bars and adapted to rock saidbars from thejperpendiouiar to an angle approximatelyf forty-fivedegrees there,-

j from, stop means for lmiting the movement 'of said-bars to angiesfromthe vertical to forty five degrees therefrom, and block's upon saidbars, each block having a slfot therein Wherebyto seat it upon agratebar, said'siot dividing r said block into i unequal sections, thelarger section having itsend rounded to pro `Vide the bodyof the bloek',the smaller section having an` end With a short lip, said' bl'ocks ibeing arranged in series of longitudinalrows .eaohrow Comprising members"fa'cing inone direction and having the lip end ofone-bloek i inengagement With the roundedenct the contiguous block to provide acontinuous unbrokentop surface for the grate, each alternate roW ofblooks having the blocks therein oppositely directed, saidblocksbeingadapted to be moved coneurrently With sai''bars between the anglesndcated andf When' so moved being adapted to form two series blocksalternately ,direeted the ends ofpwhich interloek' to provide a.continuous s-tepped downusurface from one end of' said grate' totheother. i

' FRANK& WIDMAN;

